TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Some Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay global producers a premium of $86 per tonne over the benchmark price for January-March shipments, down 13% from the current quarter, three people involved in the pricing talks said on Wednesday.

The figure is lower than the $99 per tonne paid in the October-December quarter and marks a fifth consecutive quarterly decline and the lowest premium since the October-December quarter of 2020.

Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the light metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christopher Cushing)